Legal Affairs
by CornCob
Summary: Squall Leonhart and Vincent Valentine, two loyal officers of the law, have stumbled across their big break. Too bad wanted-criminal Cloud Strife has other plans for them. Oneshot Leon/Cloud Vincent/Sephiroth


Disclaimer:

I don't own FFVII/FFVIII/KH or their characters. Don't own McDonald's, Co-co Puffs, Farmers' Almanac, or SpongeBob.

By the way, ignore the fact that there that I have given **Midgar** _**an **__**ocean**_ within the first sentenc, and that I go back and forth between it being a nice place and a horrible place. Let's  
just pretend that at least part of Midgar is a nice place for the story, please. Hahaha  
I started this story over a year ago as a surpise gift to Sleighbells. After about six months I showed it her the half finished thing. Then never finished it, hahaha. But just recently (yestday) the mood struck, and I did what I needed to do. Keep in mind that most of this story is written way back, while some of it is brand new. It's not exactly going to be seamless.

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The weather was warm, the sky was clear, and there was a light breeze blowing across the ocean to cool those taking delight in the beautiful city. Yes, it was shaping out to be a gorgeous day. It was a pity that Officer Leonhart had spent all morning in his boss' office, and therefore had not gotten to experience just how wonderful it was.

"Wanted for burglary, arson, grand theft auto, murder, and you let him get away. Because of you, this whole department is the laughingstock of the police force. Do you realize what you have done?"

Not a man on the force was a stranger to Captain Barret Wallace's ass-chewings, though few had been faced with the offenses Squall had.

"In my defense sir, I feel that my partner is just as much to blame as I am."

Squall didn't have to turn around to recognize the murderous glare he was receiving from his long time partner and off-and-on again friend. It was all right, he would forgive him eventually. Valentine owed him.

The captain stopped pacing in front of his window, which displayed a fine view of Midgar, the city with the highest known crime rate to date, and leveled a serious look at the roughed up men in front of him.

"I ain't gettin' through to you at all, am I? Maybe I need to be clearer."

"Ah, sir." It was Vincent Valentine who spoke now, stepping up to stand before the Captain's desk along side his wayward partner, whom he was currently wishing had never been born. Unlike Squall, Vincent _did_ care if he got fired. Not so much because he liked his job, but because the employment agency was just another line he would much rather avoid. Plus, being a cop meant he could pretty much do whatever the hell he wanted and no one could do anything about it.

"Perhaps if we were given a chance to explain what happened…"

Barret stared into the ebony haired man's crimson eyes for several moments before moving his gaze to stormy grey. If they had been any other two men, they'd have been out on their asses before they even checked back into HQ. However, this was Leonhart and Valentine, and they were damn good at what they did.

Realizing they had just been given a chance to redeem themselves, Vincent and Squall shared a short look before the chocolate haired man stepped forward. This was their only chance to turn this all around. _Please God…_ Vincent thought. _Don't let Leon fuck this up._

"You have one shot." Barret spoke, already cursing his decision.

"What happened? And why is Cloud Strife still out there?"

Squall Leonhart wet his lips.

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It was a shitty day in Midgar. Not to say that most days in Midgar _weren't_ shitty, but today was just adding to the ever growing statistic. Despite the overcast nature of the morning, people were still out and about throughout the city, just obviously not on the corner of Timber and Holland Street.

"How about them?"

Vincent looked up from the steering wheel to follow Squall's finger to a rusted minivan. He gave a thoughtful hum as he raised his scan gun, a disappointed frown crossing his features as he saw the reading.

"Speed limit."

"Damn."

Vincent nodded his head in agreement as he lowered the gun and resumed his staring, this time at the abandoned McDonald's parking lot across the street. He and his partner had been assigned one of the slower parts of town for the day, and it was beginning to get to them. They had spent the last few hours sitting in their trooper car, scanning any passing traffic in hopes of nailing someone for speeding. So far everyone had been obeying all posted traffic signs, God damn it.

"I'm bored." Vincent eyed his shaggy haired partner as the man reclined his seat back to the farthest position.

"And what would you have me do, Squall?"

He let his eyes slip closed as he heard the lever pull and the seat click back into its regular position.

"Leon."

Vincent smirked at the brunet's petpeave. He really had no idea what was so wrong with going by one's real name. He wasn't out there demanding that people call him 'Val.' He allowed a small shudder at the thought. He shook it off quickly, however, as he heard the car door slam shut and saw Leon walk out in front of the vehicle.

Outside, Leon gave a dull look at the flickering street light to his left. He supposed it didn't really matter, since it was only midday, but it seemed to add to the crappy atmosphere. He looked around his desolate surroundings with a slight scowl on his lips. He hated getting assigned to this part of the city. It was dirty, empty, and a hot spot for criminals. The only problem was, most criminals weren't out this early, so he didn't understand the purpose of being posted here. The only reasonable answer his mind could come up with was that it was some sort of punishment for not getting a warrant the last time he and Vincent stumbled across a meth lab, resulting in the release of all guilty parties. Petty thing, really.

"What are you doing?"

Leon ignored Vincent's bland question and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking off in whatever direction he had been facing.

"You going to tell me where you think you're going?"

He didn't worry about the man in the car. He knew Vincent would follow him eventually.

"I'm not going to come get you when you get knifed in an alley."

He smirked as he kept walking, giving a quiet chuckle as he heard the car door pop open and slam shut, the sound of Vincent's angry footsteps getting closer. This is what always happened. The two would get posted somewhere stupid, Leon would get bored and wander, Vincent would reluctantly tag along, and the two would stumble upon some bad situation of varying severity. The last time they had followed this cycle, they discovered an underground sex-slave trade. Vincent wound up getting shot five times in the back and was bedridden for two months. While Vincent was in the hospital, rightfully blaming Leon for the whole thing, the brunet had been forced to feed the man's goldfish, as well as do other menial chores in return for almost getting him killed. Also during this time, Leon had gotten stuck with Reno Sinclair as a replacement partner. This had led to many unfortunate events, including the brunet being shoved in front of a moving vehicle. Two days and a concussion later, Leon woke to find himself in a hospital bed next to a grinning Valentine.

"Ow! Jesus, what was that for?!"

Leon glared at Vincent while he worked to regain his footing from where the other man had just kicked him in the heel.

"You were zoning. I was talking. It was rude."

The brunet rolled his eyes. It wasn't like Vincent never enjoyed their little on-the-clock escapades. It helped to pass the time.

"So where are you going?"

Leon regarded Vincent from the corner of his eye as he kept walking, lifting his arms to fold behind his head.

"Dunno."

Vincent stopped walking, glaring holes in the brunet's back.

"'Dunno' usually gets me medical leave."

Leon snorted, listening as Vincent jogged to catch up with him again.

"You should thank me."

It seemed that the raven haired man was accepting 'Dunno' for the time being and the two walked on in silence for some time.

They walked for about fifteen minutes without saying a word before Vincent stopped moving again. Over their time together, Leon had learned to differentiate between Vincent's 'I'm not following you anymore' halts, and his 'Oh, shit' halts. This one felt, suspiciously, like the second type.

"What?"

Vincent furrowed his eyebrows as he looked off to the side at nothing in particular.

Leon raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"What did you do?"

Vincent stared for a few moments longer before releasing a heavy breath.

"I didn't lock the car."

Leon stared blankly at the darker haired man, dropping his chin slightly in disbelief. He was considering making a crack about Vincent's age getting to him, as the man had just celebrated his thirty-second birthday while Leon was a mere twenty-three, but he saw his next question as more important.

"You have the keys, right?"

Vincent's eyes closed as he tightened his arms around himself.

"Ignition."

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While the slums of Midgar weren't exactly teaming with the best and the brightest, the extent of knowledge possessed by the citizens when it came to the anatomy of the automobile was damn near awe inspiring.

By the time Leon and Vincent had returned to their lonely corner, their car was in less than prime condition.

"You have to be kidding me…" Leon mumbled, using a single finger to raise the now dented hood, revealing the car devoid of motor. Vincent circled around the back of the vehicle with his hands on his forehead, mentally totaling the dollars worth of damages done to the car, as well as the amount of stolen property he had yet to discover.

"The scan gun is gone."

Leon flatly shared his findings as he bent, looking through the driver's window, which had been busted out with a crowbar. He would have guessed it was done with a brick, except that the actual crowbar had been left at the scene, flag-poled out of the windshield.

Vincent flinched. He loved that thing.

"The real guns are gone, too."

Vincent flinched again. The thought of these imbeciles running around with guns made the scars on his back sting.

While Vincent fretted over the fact that not only did they have to walk back to the station, but they had to do it in a bad part of town where they _knew_ the citizens were now armed, Leon stood with his arms crossed, staring at their car.

"I don't get it."

Vincent tried to shove down his sense of impending doom enough to pay attention to his partner.

"What?"

"The doors were unlocked. Why'd they have to knock the windows out? They even stole our keys. It seems like it would have been easier to steal the whole car than to remove the engine."

Vincent rolled his eyes. That was Leon for you.

"You're an idiot. Let's get out of here. We need to find a cab before it gets dark."

Leon glared at Vincent's retreating back.

"Don't be mad at me. You're the one who left the doors unlocked."

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An hour and forty five minutes of walking proved to be not as awful as the two had anticipated. As two openly pessimistic individuals, Leon and Vincent had imagined themselves brutally beaten and raped a dozen times by now, not walking down the sidewalks without bother. Yes, things seemed to be going all right for the men. Worryingly so, in fact. This is why it came as no surprise to either one of them when the first scream sounded.

Instinct kicked in and the two took off to where they assumed the sound had come from, proven correct as another furious shriek broke the otherwise quiet air, this time much closer. The two men grasped their pistols as they approached a rickety looking building, now able to hear voices as they drew nearer to the plywood door.

"Let me go, you asshole!"

"You're Strife? Pfft, you're a lot smaller than I expected."

Leon and Vincent shared a wide eyed look as they overheard the conversation. If 'Strife' meant Cloud Strife, then the two of them were definitely getting their bonuses this year. Cloud Strife had worked his way up in the world of illegal affairs, well known throughout the city for his array of offenses and had been alluding capture for quite sometime now. He was supposed to be a real son of a bitch, between racking up fourteen counts of murder and innumerable charges of thefts of different levels.

It was pretty much assumed that anyone who brought him in wouldn't have to work for the rest of their lives. It wasn't so much that the city officials wanted one less criminal on the streets. No, it had more to do with the fact that Cloud Strife hated Governor Shinra, something he made clear with the pictures and messages he spray-painted over every crime scene he left behind him. Apparently the governor took this personally.

"I said let me go!"

From the sounds of it, it would seem that the infamous Cloud Strife had just run himself into trouble. Giving Vincent a nod and a grim smile, Leon dipped his head towards the door, silently mouthing a countdown before the two burst into the shabby building, guns pointed straight ahead.

The dimly lit room revealed a large, tattoo-covered man who had a very petite blond boy backed up against a wall. The blond had large, pleading blue eyes. He looked relieved that someone had stumbled upon him in his current dilemma, hoping that who ever had showed up was going to help him out.

"Back away from the kid." Vincent warned, not noticing that his partner's focus seemed to have dwindled since entering the building. Not exactly paying attention to Vincent, Leon was much more content to stare at the very attractive, very tiny blond currently being blocked by a particularly disgusting human being. There was no way that was Strife…

The brunet was pulled back to reality as he watched the large, dirty man hock up a wad of phlegm, landing it on Vincent's left pant leg. Leon's face contorted into a classic "oh no you didn't" expression before his eyes slipped shut and he withheld a laugh. Vincent had a 'uniform thing,' as Leon called it. The man couldn't concentrate if there was a single wrinkle, let alone a ball of snot the size of a golf ball on it. Cloud also seemed to find humor in the strange behavior of the newcomers.

Vincent was less amused.

He was considering pistol whipping the shit out of the bastard when the man fell to his knees, leaving a smirking blond standing proudly behind him. In the larger man's moment of distraction, he had seen fit to kick him in the groin. His victory was short lived, however, as he realized that the only exit to the door was being blocked by two cops.

"Cloud Strife?"

Two cops that knew his name, to boot.

"Um…No?"

Vincent dipped his head and raised a disbelieving eye brow. He was about to question further when Leon, realizing this and hating to see such a beautiful individual get harassed by a policeman, stepped forward.

"Shut up, Vincent. He said he's not Strife. I think we should do the honorable thing and take the kid home."

Vincent glared.

"First off all, we have reason to believe that he _is_ Strife, and he saying that he isn't doesn't change that. Second, even if he wasn't, we don't have a car to take him home _in_."

Leon frowned, denying that someone as adorable as that kid could be someone said to be so awful. Actually, it was kind of sexy, now that he started thinking about it. Just the thought of the small man slipping around the city, doing unspeakable things and avoiding capture every time…It was admirable, on some level.

Cloud watched as the two new men argued back and forth as to the truth of his identity, wondering all the while why the brunet would deny who he was. He knew all too well the bounty out for his arrest. Hell, if he could have made it workable, he would have turned _himself_ in by now. While he enjoyed his late hobby, Cloud Strife wanted to retire.

"Um, excuse me." The blond broke in as Vincent took a step toward Leon, no doubt planning on beating his train of thought into the other man.

"It's going to get dark soon, and well…you said you didn't have a car, right?"

As the two men regarded him, Cloud wondered just what in the hell he was about to get himself into.

"It's going to be getting dark soon…"

There was no reason he should offer what he was about to offer…but they had undoubtedly saved him…and he just got the impression that the brunet wouldn't hurt him, and in turn, neither would the other man.

"So if you want to stay with me for the night, you could leave in the morning. It gets pretty nasty around here at dark, and I don't think those guns you two have will protect you for long."

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Half way up the stairwell with the two policemen in tow, Cloud began to rethink his decision. On one hand, he couldn't, in good conscious, leave the two men to fend for themselves after nightfall. Cops didn't do well to hang around after hours when the residents knew they had no car or weapons. Plus, the whole way here, Leon, as he introduced himself, had been very kind to him. Vincent didn't seem too thrilled to spend the night in the home of a wanted criminal, however. Cloud could only imagine when he found out that _another_ sociopath would be sharing a roof with him for the evening. It was on that note, that Cloud realized all the _bad_ sides to what he had just done.

Oh God, Sephiroth was going to kill him.

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"You _what_?!" Cloud flinched as his seventeen year old roommate had an absolute conniption fit. The boy brought his hands to pull at his long silver hair, regarding his moronic friend with horrified eyes.

"Seph, listen, it's not that bad!"

Cloud ducked as a hand came to slap him across the face, missing him by just a second.

"Don't say my name, you idiot. Just because they all know who you are doesn't mean I'm jealous. And yes, it is that bad."

Cloud rolled his eyes.

"No it isn't. I think everything is going to be fine, all we have to do is let them stay here for the night, kick them out in the morning, and it will all be over. They swore they wouldn't turn us in."

By the time the blond realized his mistake, it was far too late. Sephiroth turned his head sharply, his eye twitching as he stared at Cloud.

"…'Us?' You told them 'us?' You told dragged me into this? Please, Cloud. Tell me you didn't pull me down with you. If you want to go to federal prison, that's fine. I, however, would rather not."

Sephiroth shook his head, his large, dread-filled green eyes closing as he took a seat on his tattered bed. Cloud sighed, deciding it was now safe to get near. Sitting down next to his friend, he wrapped a comforting arm around him. The two had met back before Cloud had built a name for himself, back when he passed the time with petty misdemeanors rather than preconceived auto theft. It was the day that Cloud had found himself in a rather compromising position with an enraged shop owner that Sephiroth had stumbled across the boy. He did some damage control and got Cloud out of trouble, then proceeded to tell the child everything he had done wrong. Cloud, awed with the new constructive criticism, followed Sephiroth around for days, hoping to learn everything he could from the older boy. It wasn't long before a strange friendship formed between the two, eventually getting a nasty apartment together. It was their combined 'misdeeds' that paid the rent, as well as what fed them.

"Look." Cloud started, being no stranger to Sephiroth's freak outs and knowing how to calm him down.

"It's all right. I mean, it even sounds fun, to me. Think about it? Spending the night with two cops and getting away with it? It's not like they're going to remember where we live, and they swore, Seph. They swore they wouldn't turn us in."

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"But we swore!"

Leon cast a traitorous look at Vincent, not believing what the man had just said.

"I know we swore. We lied."

Vincent rolled his eyes, eyeing the shabby living room he was currently standing it. He and Leon had been led into the small apartment while Cloud entered another room under the pretext of consulting his room mate. For all he knew, he was going in there to get a shotgun. If it weren't for the faint sounds an argument coming through the door, he wouldn't have believed him at all.

"Besides. The only reason you swore was because you think he's cute."

Leon's jaw dropped, staring at Vincent, though unable to look into his eyes.

"That is not true. I simply--"

"Want to sleep with him."

Leon narrowed his eyes, keeping a straight face before a smirk slipped over his lips.

"Okay, so I think he's cute. But I also don't think he's a threat to us, Vince. And what else were we supposed to do? Walk home at night? I may get along with you, but I'm not taking a bullet for you."

Vincent knew this to be true. Not the dodging a bullet part, since the brunet had done just that in the past. No, he couldn't argue with Leon because they had no where else to go. He hated to say it, but this was as safe as they were going to get for the evening.

"All right. But you can't touch him."

Leon drew closer to Vincent, hoping not to be overheard by the blond in the other room.

"What if he touches me first?"

Vincent rolled his eyes.

"You're disgusting."

"No I'm not, I am genuinely attracted to the kid, there's nothing wrong with that."

The ebony-haired man shook his head, wondering what in the hell was going on with his partner. He never recalled the man being so…impulsive.

"You're at _least _five years older than he is. And I guess it doesn't really matter, since he's going to prison after this. _I_ don't—"

Their voices died out as the bedroom door opened and Cloud backed out of it, motioning for someone to follow him. From where they were standing, Vincent and Leon could hear the protests coming from the faceless roommate.

"Fuck you. You can babysit your little friends, but I want no part of it."

Leon snickered as he nudged Vincent in the arm.

"He sounds like you."

Vincent smirked.

"Somehow I doubt that."

Cloud rolled his eyes, turning to face the two men.

"You'll have to excuse my friend, he's overreacting. Seph, if you decide to come out, this is Leon and Vincent. Leon and Vincent, the chicken shit in the other room is Sephiroth."

It was amazing just what powers of persuasion Cloud seemed to possess. Not only had he talked two police officers into his apartment, but he managed to get Sephiroth out of the bedroom in two seconds flat. The second one, however, seemed to have a price to pay along with it.

Cloud squeaked and quickly ducked across the room, hoping to avoid whatever Sephiroth had just thrown at him. Fortunately for him, the 1995 edition of the Farmers Almanac whizzed past his left ear and he turned to smile cheekily at the angry boy now standing in the doorway.

Leon cringed as a heavy looking book almost smacked his newly appointed object of affection in the back of the skull before turning to see the thrower. The wielder of the reference book was a tall, thin young man with long silver hair. He was cute, but a little too creepy for his tastes. Leon was much more suited to the sexy blond.

Vincent, on the other hand, could form not one single coherent thought as he caught sight of the pale beauty. He subconsciously ran his tongue along his lip as he stared at the boy, something that Leon noticed with more than a little alarm.

The brunet gave a strange look at the pouting boy in the doorway, wondering just what Vincent found so special about him. He looked like a prick. From the way he talked to Cloud, he sounded like a prick. Then again…_Vincent_ was a prick.

Grinning slightly, Leon felt a new hope wash over him. He had never seen Vincent react so quickly to someone, and certainly after simply _looking_ at them. Now there was no way the red eyed man was going to make them turn Cloud in.

It was also then that Leon remembered a certain statement Vincent had made a few moments ago, one concerning age differences.

"How old are you?"

Sephiroth stared blankly at the brunet, while Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Just curious." Leon smirked, looking at Vincent out of the corner of his eye. Cloud watched the brunet's strange behavior, deciding to answer for his friend.

"He's seventeen. I'm fifteen."

Sephiroth shot Cloud and dirty look and Leon grinned victoriously after doing the short math in his head.

"That's only eight years for me. That's _fifteen_ for you."

Cloud frowned, seemingly stumped.

"I don't get it."

"Maybe they're adding the jail time we're going to get when we find out they have a dozen other guys on the way right now."

Cloud shook his head in disappointment, about to scold his friend when a voice interjected.

"We won't turn you in, there's no one coming. _Nothing_ will happen to you."

Even Leon looked shocked at the absolute sincerity and evenness of Vincent's voice. Apparently the man's newly exposed pedophilia was doing wonders for his attitude. Shaking his head, he gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Good choice. So how are we going to be sleeping tonight?"

Grey eyes rested intently on Cloud as he asked the question, causing the blond to blush slightly at the obvious attention.

"Um." Cloud brought a hand to run through his short hair. He hadn't really gotten that far yet.

"Well…We've got two beds and a couch. The beds are in that room, and well…you're looking at the couch…"

The blond motioned towards the torn-up loveseat in the middle of the room. He appeared to be the only one appropriately sized enough to be half way comfortable sleeping on the thing.

Leon was trying to figure out just how to convince Vincent that he needed to sleep alone in a room with Cloud. He didn't care if he wound up with the couch or the bed, since he doubted that the beds were in any better condition. It actually tore at his heart to know that this was the way these two boys lived.

Sephiroth crossed his arms and took several steps into the room. He wasn't so sure about this pseudo-sleepover Cloud had brought upon them. What if these two cops attacked them in their sleep? Or called the station when they were in the other room? He leveled his gaze on the two policemen.

"Give us your phones and your weapons."

Vincent raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure how he felt about that command when he heard Leon all but ripping the articles in question from his being. It was after the second pistol was dropped on the living room table and the brunet pulled a cell phone from his back pocket that Vincent saw red.

"You mean to tell me you had a phone?!"

Leon paused from digging around in his pants for his knife to cast a wide eyed, guilty stare at his partner. Meanwhile, Sephiroth was watching with weary eyes, while Cloud was quite distracted with how Leon had frozen with his hand jammed down the front of his pants.

"Well, yea. You're the only human being alive who doesn't have one."

"We don't have phones!" Cloud chimed in, only to be hushed by his roommate.

Vincent gave the blond a strange but grateful look for his cheery outburst before turning a hardened glare back to Leon.

"So you could have called headquarters at any given moment, and arranged for us to be picked up. But you, instead, decided to let us wander into unknown and dangerous territory so that you could hope to get to know some blond child."

At this, Cloud pouted. He realized that he was only fifteen, but he in no way considered himself a child. It wasn't until he fully realized the implications of the statement that the smile creeped onto his face. So the brunet policeman _had _been flirting with him. The smile became a small smirk. And to think, all this time Sephiroth had been telling him he was wholly undesirable.

Bored of watching the two men argue and more than ready for the evening to be over with, Sephiroth stepped toward the coffee table and collected the two guns, which had been joined by Leon's small blade sometime during the duration of the argument. He tried not to think about what kind of cop kept a knife inside of their pants, deciding that that sort of information would only make him more nervous throughout the night.

The sight of the boy picking up the weaponry brought Leon and Vincent's debate to a halt. There was just something unnerving about watching a possible-criminal pick up a gun, especially when you no longer had one. Sephiroth's eyes traveled suspiciously up Vincent's body, noting the gun tucked into his waistband.

"And yours?"

Vincent stared back at the silver-haired boy, suddenly wishing that Leon wasn't there. There were about a hundred and ten things he could do to turn this situation into quite an enjoyable one if it weren't for his stupid partner standing next to him. Leon recognized the look on Vincent's face, while the other two in the room took the raven haired man's silence for resistance.

Leon groaned and gave Cloud an apologetic look before rolling his eyes and shaking his head, causing the blond to giggle.

"Come on, Vince. What are you waiting for, the kid to strip search you?"

Vincent jolted from a particularly raunchy thought and glared at Leon. The brunet nudged his head in the direction of Sephiroth, who was now giving the man in front of him a strange, almost insecure look. It was then that Vincent realized he had been staring at the boy's neck for far too long.

Sephiroth shook his head, turning to Cloud.

"This is your fault. You did this; you run it. I'm going to put these up. Cloud, get his gun, and decide where they sleep. I don't care. I just want this over and I'm not going to help you clean up your own mess this time."

Sephiroth stalked off to the bedroom, guns held to his chest, leaving Cloud with the two policemen.

"Uh, sorry about that. He's kinda moody."

Leon shook his head, instantly taking several steps toward the blond.

"Don't worry about it. Maybe if _someone_ wasn't such an _asshole_ this would be easier." The brunet narrowed his eyes at Vincent, who was staring blankly back at him.

Cloud sighed, giving Vincent a half smile.

"Can I have the gun, please?"

The dark haired man just stared at the blond, trying to think of one good reason that he should do what he said. Just because Leon was already love sick…or was it lust sick? enough to do whatever this boy asked of him doesn't mean he should be the same.

Cloud rolled his eyes and flopped down on the couch, Leon snickering at the childish action.

"Look, I really don't care if you keep the gun or not. You said nothing would happen to us, and I believe you, but it would really make my life easier. Otherwise Seph is going to be up my ass for the rest of the night."

Leon flinched visibly at the statement, hoping that it was just a figure of speech. He had to admit, he had been horribly jealous since the silver haired kid had walked out of the bedroom, worried that maybe the two of them were already together. He figured he could always just ask if they were, but it seemed kind of…unclassy. He was an officer of the law; he couldn't just ask this kid if he was single.

"Are you two fucking?"

Leon looked up as he heard Vincent ask the question, who was staring curiously down at a now horrified looking Cloud.

"NO! Ew, no no no." He paused, a blush coming over his face before clearing his throat.

"I mean, no. We're just friends."

From the other room, a humorless laugh could be heard.

"We're not even that!"

Cloud rolled his eyes and Leon raised an eyebrow at the closed bedroom door.

"…Cute kid…Seems like a real sweetheart."

Cloud laughed and moved forward on his seat, motioning around the sparsely decorated room for the men to make themselves at home.

"Get comfortable I guess. I would offer you guys something to eat, but I don't think we actually have a kitchen. We have some bottled water, if you don't mind drinking after us."

Vincent looked a bit disgusted as he took a seat on a wicker chair.

"You two live like this?"

Cloud's eyebrows furrowed, slightly offended.

"Hey, it's not a bad life. It's just…not really what we were looking for..." his voice trailed off as he looked to the stained carpet.

Leon's heart ached unexpectedly at the thought of these two boys living like they were, in this nasty apartment, eating when and where they could…it seemed wrong. The blond sitting on the couch was just too beautiful to deserve a life like this. The rational part of his mind, the part he had named "Vincent," was arguing that he lived this way because he was a _heartless criminal._ But that part of his mind wasn't the one looking at the young boy right then. The almost sad expression on the blond's face proved him to very much have a heart, one that needed to be cared for.

Leon stretched and took a seat next to Cloud, reclining into the corner of it to easily watch the blond without being seen. From his position, he could also see Vincent. The dark haired man was looking around the apartment, seeming to be feeling some of the same emotions that Leon had a few moments ago.

"Okay…I give up."

Leon looked at Cloud, confusion of his face.

"You give up what?"

The spiky headed blond sighed and leaned back against the couch.

"I'm trying to figure out some sort of sleeping arrangement that won't lead to Sephiroth totally bitching me out. On one hand….I can't leave both of you out here alone, because 'you could plot,' and I can't split us up into one on one groups, because then you 'could try and kill us in our sleep.'" Cloud did an admirable job of mocking Sephiroth's voice, rolling his eyes and resting his head in his hands.

"And we can't all sleep in one room, because there isn't that kind of space."

Leon's hopes fell at the elimination of them being split into one on one groups, as that was exactly what he had been hoping for. Somehow he had to turn this situation around.

"Cloud, do you mind if I talk to Vincent alone for a minute?"

Vincent gave Leon a strange look, wondering why he would compromise the blond's trust by asking to speak in secrecy. The raven haired man shook his head, wondering why Leon had to be so stupid.

Much to his surprise, Cloud actually looked relieved.

"Yea! That's fine. I'm gonna go talk to Seph. Just, uh, knock when you're ready I guess."

The blond eagerly stood and made his way to the bedroom, looking at the men once more before disappearing behind the door.

"Vince, you _have _to give him the gun."

Vincent rolled his eyes, standing from his uncomfortable chair.

"I'm serious." Leon continued.

"We have to prove to them that we're not going to hurt them. They've been living in this shitty neighborhood for a long time, it's obvious why they wouldn't trust us."

Vincent sighed, bringing his fingers to rake through his hair.

"Do you think fifteen years is too much?"

Leon jerked his head up at the odd and unrelated question before smirk spread over his lips

"Yes."

Vincent glared at his partner before a deranged smile crossed his own face.

"That's okay."

Leon actually felt a little worried as he watched the hungry look on the raven haired man's face as he removed his gun and placed it on the table.

"Now, how can we get them _both_ out of the room this time? I need to see him again, just to make sure he is worth going to prison for."

Leon let a lazy grin cross his face as he patted the empty seat next to him.

"Believe me. He's worth it. They both are."

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"He's. So. Hot." Cloud held his hand over his heart as he closed the bedroom door, falling against it once it had closed. Sephiroth only grimaced at the blond from where he sat on the bed, swinging his legs over the edge.

"You sound like a twelve year old girl."

Cloud grinned as he pounced on the bed, knocking Sephiroth over.

"I _feel_ like a twelve year old girl. Isn't this exciting?!"

Pouting, Sephiroth pulled himself back up into a sitting position, now seated cross legged facing Cloud.

"No."

The blond rolled his eyes before a giddy smile crossed his face again.

"Yes it is, you just won't admit it. I mean, that Leon guy is…oh my God. Hot."

Sephiroth raised a brow.

"Yes, you said that already."

"And what about Vincent? Did you _see_ they way he looked at you? He wants you."

The silver haired boy's head snapped upwards at the blond.

"He does?" Green eyes widened at his mistake, instantly sliding closed at the smirk that spread on Cloud's face.

"I don't know, I thought you weren't interested…" Cloud drawled off, looking innocently at his friend. Sephiroth frowned for a moment, before cutting his eyes to the side and letting a small smile grace his lips.

"Okay, fine. Maybe I think this is kind of exciting, and I do think that guy is…attractive."

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Attractive? What are you, ninety?" Sephiroth rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I think he's sexy."

"Sexy?! Holy crap!" Sephiroth's face tinted with pink as Cloud threw his arms in the air.

"Hallelujah, I never thought I would hear you say that! My little Sephy is growing up! OW!" Cloud clutched his shoulder where Sephiroth had just punched him, not appreciating the teasing or the nickname.

"All right all right. I'm sorry. I--"

The knock on the door startled the both of them, though they recovered relatively well.

"Come in!" Cloud yelled, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. Sephiroth's eyes widened, looking from the door to an object on the night stand, something that not even Cloud had seen. Bolting, the silver haired boy quickly shoved the object into the drawer, ignoring the look Cloud gave him and turning to the opening door. He tried to fight the blush at the way Cloud walked over and nudged him as the two policemen entered the room. It would seem that in an attempt to better gain their trust, Vincent and Leon had removed the jacket part of their uniform, now each in just their white undershirts.

Standing next to Leon, Vincent felt fairly self-conscious, noting the way that the brunet filled the shirt out wonderfully, his tanned, muscled body contrasting in an appealing manner. Glancing down at himself, he was displeased at how the shirt somehow clashed with his pale skin, managing to wash him out in an, in his opinion, highly unattractive way. He was surprised, however, to see a pair of deviant green eyes roaming up the length of his body, finally settling on his face with an indifferent look. Oh yes, this boy was _more_ than worth spending the rest of his life in jail for. He cast a suggestive smirk in Sephiroth's direction, to which the boy quickly dropped his gaze to the floor. Vincent did not fail to notice the smile on the boy's thin lips, though. He was just imagining those lips wrapping around his hot, hardened member when an elbow to the ribs knocked him out of his fantasy.

"Stop being such a freak." Leon whispered next to him. "You're gonna scare the poor kid."

Vincent rolled his eyes and stepped away from the brunet, motioning with his hand for Leon to begin what they had discussed.

At the cue, Sephiroth and Cloud moved their eyes to Leon, though Cloud's eyes had never left him to start with.

"We came up with a sleeping arrangement proposal, and we thought we would share it."

When no response was made, Leon continued.

"Since you have two beds in here, we decided we could drag one out into the living room and line it up with the couch. We know you have no real reason to trust us, so we aren't even going to try to say that the two of us should share a room. Besides, we, being Vincent, don't really feel safe with the two of you sharing a room, either. We figured that if we split up, and proved to you that we were harmless, or at least as harmless as you are, that we could pair up. That way, everyone is running an equal risk and it's safer to just not try anything funny."

Cloud's mind raced at the thought of sharing a room alone with the brunet, all of the scenarios he was coming up with sending a tingle down his lean body. Then his mind ran the option of him sharing a room with Vincent, which just seemed….wrong. The guy was so old. That thought caught him as odd, and he cast Sephiroth a repulsed look.

"You like older men?"

Sephiroth cut his gaze immediately to Cloud, his green eyes widening in disbelief.

"Shut up, Cloud."

"I'm serious, he could be like…your father."

Leon grinned at his partner.

"Now, now. Vince isn't that old. He's only forty nine."

Cloud's eyes doubled in size while Vincent swatted Leon in the back of the head, quickly giving Sephiroth a reassuring look.

"I'm thirty-two, don't listen to him."

Sephiroth tried to ignore why Vincent would be so adamant on letting him know this, not quite willing to believe that what Cloud had said was true. The raven haired man in front of his was tall, dark, gorgeous, and old enough to have built a happy life for himself, family included. Why would he be interested in some kid on the street? Shaking his head, Sephiroth looked between the two cops as he crossed his arms.

"So how do you propose we partner off?"

"Random selection."

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"There are two of us…How randomly selective can it get?"

Leon crossed his arms, and amused grin crossing his features.

"Fine, smart ass. You're sleeping with me."

Internally, the blond and the brunet did a mental victory dance while Vincent just stared at Sephiroth with a knowing smile. The silver haired boy was torn between the foreign feeling of excitement flooding his system and the rational fear of the look in Vincent's eyes.

Eager for a distraction, Sephiroth huffed, crossing the room and taking a seat on his bed.

"You two can have the living room. I'm sleeping here."

Cloud gave Sephiroth a sneaky grin, already back tracking to the door.

"That's okay, I understand if you want to lose your virginity in your own bed. It's a natural feeli—" Cloud cut himself off as Sephiroth leapt from the bed, pursuing the blond out of the room angrily.

With the two out trying to maim each other in the living room, Leon and Vincent shared a feral smirk. Vincent's however, left the brunet feeling slightly sorry for the silver haired boy.

"So." Leon started, walking over to one of the tattered bed, the one Sephiroth hadn't been sitting on.

"Want to help me move this?"

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Leon watched with anxious eyes as Vincent closed the bedroom door behind him, leaving he and Cloud alone in the living room. The blond was currently balanced kneeling on the bed as he arched his back away from it, trying to cast the sheet over the span on the bed without fluffing himself in the face.

Leon watched with lust filled eyes as Cloud crawled across the bed, trying to tuck the fitted sheet over the corners of the mattress.

Cloud mentally cursed to himself as for the third time, the left corner of the sheet popped off the mattress. Everything was fine until it came time to set the last corner. He hated sheets. If it weren't for Seph's irrational phobia of bedbugs, he wouldn't use them at all. In his angry concentration, it took everything Cloud had not to yelp as a large pair of hands rested themselves on his hips, causing him to jump slightly. His eyes slipped closed as he felt the body above fold over him from behind, breath tickling his ear.

"Cloud Strife, stand up and place your hands behind your head. Do not resist or direct action will be taken."

Cloud shivered at the professional tone in Leon's voice, fighting a smile as he slowly brought his hands to fold behind his head, frowning, however, as he felt Leon's body move away from him. He wasn't sure why he wanted to be with the man so strongly, but it had been all he had been thinking about since meeting the brunet.

A warm feeling raced through his body as he felt those hands return to his shoulders, this time coaxing him from the bed, not stopping until Cloud was guided to the couch. From there, was gently shoved to bend over somewhat, resting his hands on the arm of the sofa.

"Please do not resist, Strife. This is a routine pat-down. Any weapons on your being are to be turned over to the state and may effect your trial."

Cloud groaned as those hands ran down from his shoulders all the way to his ankles, where they began a slow and meticulous trip upwards. Leon smirked at the way Cloud shuffled as he trailed his hands along the inside of Cloud's thighs, deciding that the pants were very much an inconvenience. He looked past it for the moment, however, deciding to finish what he'd started first. Abandoning Cloud's thighs, Leon slid his steady hands up to Cloud's hips, giving them a rough squeeze before forcing himself to continue upwards, despite how his hands desperately wanted to linger. The journey up his rib cage seemed to do a great amount of damage to the blond, as Cloud's breathing had grown quite irregular, much to the brunet's delight. Dragging his hands up and down the boys torso again for good measure, Leon took a step forward, bringing his chest against Cloud's back and allowing the blond to feel his stiff arousal. Feeling the hardness against his backside, Cloud groaned, dropping his hands from behind his head and turning quickly to the brunet behind him. He was met with stormy grey, lust-filled eyes and a vicious smirk.

"Looks like you're clean, Strife. How…unfortunate."

Cloud grinned back, lifting his hands to cover Leon's as they once again rested on his hips. The brunet leaned down, resting his forehead against Cloud's as he gave him teasing smile. Cloud hummed thoughtfully, wondering why being 'clean' was a bad thing. He didn't give it too much thought, though, and instead tilted his head upwards as the lips a few inches from his made their way closer. Their lips touched softly, rubbing against each other, exploring the new feeling in innocent curiosity. As the feeling was made familiar, the kiss quickly began to lose its innocence. Leon ran his tongue along Cloud's mouth, to which he was almost immediately granted access. Once his lips parted, Cloud's mouth was bombarded by Leon's hot tongue. The blond moaned, molding his body to Leon's as he eagerly kissed the tanned man back, raising his arms to wrap around his neck. Happy with the reaction, Leon dropped his hands to Cloud's ass, giving it a squeeze before hoisting the petite blond up into his arms. Surprised at being picked up, Cloud gave a small hum of approval before wrapping his legs around Leon's waist, instantly rewarded as their groins rubbed together through the fabric of their clothing. The thought that that overwhelming feeling was only _dulled _by the layers of clothing left Cloud excited for how it would feel with it gone. He moaned happily as Leon's mouth continued its attack on his own, and was even happier as he felt the brunet place him down on the bed and crawl above him, never once breaking their contact. Suddenly Leon pulled back from the kiss, looking down at a confused Cloud with stern eyes.

"Are you sure you want this?"

Cloud stared up at the man above him, wondering if he had done something between moaning like a whore and rubbing against him that would have given Leon the idea that he wasn't certain he wanted to have sex. Quickly lifting his head, Cloud caught Leon's bottom lip between his teeth, giving it a few nips before angling his head to nibble at the brunet's ear lobe. Breathing heavily in his ear, Cloud blindly reached for Leon's hand, finding it and guiding it to the bulge in the front of his jeans.

"You tell me."

Leon's eyes slid closed as he forced his mouth back over Cloud's wondering how in the hell he managed to become so lucky.

He smirked against Cloud's lips as he felt the boy tugging at the hem of his undershirt, momentarily pulling away and removing the shirt himself. He groaned as small hands traveled up his torso, touching him and scratching him in all the right places.

Mindlessly, he snatched those hands and moved them above Cloud's head to quickly remove the blond's shirt, giving the newly exposed skin an intent stare. The boy was thin and pale, and everything that Leon could have possibly hoped for. Dropping his head, Leon placed numerous wet kisses along Cloud's chest and neck, only encouraged by the moans he earned along the way. He felt those hands pull at his shoulders before finding their place in his messy hair, allowing himself a smirk before sitting up and leveling his gaze on Cloud's waist line.

He raised his eyes to meet Cloud's momentarily, sparing the blond a smirk.

"These have to go."

Cloud nodded dumbly, lifting his hips to allow Leon easier access as the brunet yanked the button open and roughly pulled the pants down the blond's thin hips and legs. Standing up, he made short work of his own as well, something that Cloud was mesmerized to watch. Leon moved with such a sexy confidence, and everything he was doing was leaving Cloud hot and overwhelmed. He struggled to keep in the loud groan as Leon's cock dragged against his own erection. It was such an intense feeling that Cloud wasn't sure if he was going to be able to get through this at a reasonable noise level. Leon was hovering above him again, one hand used to hold himself up, next to Cloud's head, and the other was gripping his own hardened member, dragging it along the line of Cloud's ass. The blond moaned softly, opening his legs widely, hoping to gain more of that feeling. His eyes fell shut as he felt a warm digit circle his opening, doing his best to relax as the intruding finger slid inside of him. He concentrated on how it felt in him, enraptured by the feeling of it sliding against his walls, especially when it was joined by another. They moved gently inside of him, stretching him to accommodate what was to come. He almost shouted when Leon removed those fingers in favor of grabbing his cock, giving it several hard pumps as he lowered his lips back down to meet the blond's in a rough kiss. Cloud mewled against his mouth as he felt Leon's erection press, once more, against his ass. Groaning again, he lifted his hips towards Leon, earning a growl as the brunet's erection was given a little more friction against his body.

Leon allowed himself a small, breathless gasp as Cloud's hands traveled down their bodies, feeling them grasp at his cock and bring it to push against the blond's own opening. He smirked against Cloud's lips as he happily took the hint, slowly pushing himself into Cloud's overheated body.

"Wait!"

Leon froze instantly, looking down, hoping to God Cloud wasn't changing his mind.

"Do we need lube?"

Leon looked around the ill-equipped apartment before giving Cloud a helpless look.

"I have pepper spray…" Cloud grimaced and shook his head, bringing a hand to pull Leon's face back down.

"It doesn't matter." He mumbled against his lips, sighing as he felt the brunet push slowly all the way into him. It wasn't so bad without lubricant, much better than pepper spray, that was for certain.

Hooking Cloud's legs over his shoulders, Leon took a moment to enjoy the feeling of being completely sheathed inside of the small blond. Idly, he wondered if this was considered "taking a bite out of crime," as the blond below him was most certainly a criminal, and he was positive he had bitten the teen at least once since their session began. Shaking out of that thought, Leon raised his head once more, watching Cloud's face as he set the pace, pushing in and out of the boy's body, memorizing each expression of pleasure or pain that came over the blond's face. As they continued to move, Leon could feel the end gradually growing nearer and nearer. As Cloud's face contorted into extreme ecstacy and the muscles around him clamped down, Leon gave a few more thrusts before groaning out his completion and emptying himself within the now shaking body.

They laid together for a few moments, panting and trying to slow their racing hearts. Laying on his side, Leon wrapped a protective arm around Cloud, pulling the boy to lay flush against him. He enjoyed the close proximity, wondering if there was any possible way that this wouldn't be the last time he would ever see the blond. He was saved from that dark train of thought by Cloud's soft voice.

"Do you think they're…? You know…"

"Probably."

Smirking, Leon thought about the look in Vincent's eyes when the raven haired man had closed the bedroom door and quickly amended his statement.

"Definitely."

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Their hands were linked and pressed against the mattress, held above Sephiroth's head as the boy wrapped his slender legs tighter around Vincent's waist. The ebony-haired man's eyes slid closed and he groaned again against the side of Sephiroth's soft neck, reveling in the feel as he pumped slowly in and out of the boy's quaking body.

The silver haired boy squeezed Vincent's hands tightly before wiggling free of their hold, moving them, instead, to scrape and drag across the older man's back, burying his face in Vincent's shoulder.

"Sephiroth…" Sephiroth closed his eyes as Vincent moaned his name, biting his lip at the agonizingly slow pace that the dark-haired man had set. Nudging his way upwards, Sephiroth moved his mouth directly against Vincent's ear, breathing heavily before pleading that the man above him move faster.

Vincent's cock twitched inside of Sephiroth at the request and he quickly turned his head to catch the boy's lips in a deep kiss, hoping that it would convey everything that he was feeling at that moment. Sephiroth passionately returned the kiss, moaning in approval against his lips as Vincent happily obliged his request, thrusting faster inside of him.

"Vincent…" Vincent almost lost it then and there at Sephiroth's breathless moan, reeling in amazement as he looked down at the gorgeous creature beneath him. This boy was truly perfect.

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Light filtered in through poorly covered windows, casting a dingy glow throughout the small apartment. The two men lying on the couch-bed creation went entirely undisturbed by the new day, both still peacefully asleep in each other's embrace. Back in the darkened bedroom, however, it was another story.

Vincent was lying on his side watching the beautiful child he'd ravaged the night before. Sephiroth seemed unwilling to meet his gaze, instead busying himself with smoothing out the wrinkles on the pillow case between them.

"Do you have a family?"

Vincent didn't answer the question immediately, more concerned with Sephiroth's expression, which had a sort of nervous anxiety concealed behind a blank expression. Vincent brought a hand to gently stroke the silver hair before moving on to a pale cheek, drawing Sephiroth's eyes to meet his own.

"No. Do you?"

Sephiroth regarded him skeptically for only a moment before his features softened and his eyes fell back to the pillow.

"Cloud."

Vincent nodded, the movement made awkward as his cheek was pressed against the pillow. There was a tension between the two of them that wasn't there before, and he was having a hard time putting his finger on why. All he knew is that he was dreading seven o clock, as it meant he would have to leave this boy behind and go about his life without him. There was something about never seeing the green-eyed youth again that left a bad taste in his mouth and make his heart ache. He also didn't like the thought of leaving these two boys, to once again, fend for themselves in this disgusting city.

He continued to watch the boy next to him for a while longer, feeling more and more uncomfortable at the thought of leaving him.

"Can I take you with me?"

Green eyes flicked to him and Sephiroth raised his head from the pillow, confusion and mistrust on his face.

"What do you mean?"

Vincent remained where he was, simply watching Sephiroth from his relaxed position.

"Will you come with me? Is there any way that I could keep you?"

Sephiroth looked unconvinced. Cautiously, he settled back down, his face a few inches from Vincent's.

"And if I were to go along with such a thing. What of Cloud? I could not leave the 'infamous Cloud Strife' to himself. He'd be dead or in prison within the week."

Vincent smiled.

"Judging by all the noise last night, I am sure Leon would be more than willing to take Cloud in."

Sephiroth still wasn't buying it.

"And you think it would be wise for him to house such a renowned criminal? He, a cop? And you, for that matter; Do you know who I am? The things that I have done?"

Vincent reached out beneath the crumpled sheets, his fingers trailing along a smooth thigh.

"Leon can handle himself. And on the subject of you-tell me. I want to know you."

Sephiroth bit back a laugh and shook his head, his eyes lowering in sadness as he reached down to take the hand touching him. He traced his fingers over Vincent's knuckles, brushing lightly over the back of his thumb before their fingers interlaced. Sephiroth was unsure what compelled him to hold the other man's hand, or what had driven him to sleep with Vincent just hours before, but he knew that there was something in him for the dark haired cop, and it was growing.

"I don't want to talk about it." He whispered. Vincent only nodded slightly in response before using his other hand to drag Sephiroth closer to him.

"Please let me keep you."

Sephiroth smiled and stared into Vincent's chest, mulling over the idea in his mind. Could he really trust him? And how did Vincent know that Leon would want to 'adopt' Cloud? Did the two men even know what they would be getting themselves in to? All of these questions buzzed in Sephiroth's head, but one thought remained strong in his mind. He could picture himself waking up in Vincent's small but neat apartment. He could see himself getting up and taking a hot shower, finding food in the refrigerator and settling down on a nice couch to watch television. No more freezing showers taken in the houses of various acquaintances, acquaintances who usually "charged" for such amenities, no more going hungry, no more sitting with Cloud, wondering if sharing the bed to fight the cold would be worth the embarrassment of waking up in each other's arms. There wouldn't be any of that with Vincent.

When he was met with a long silence, Vincent wondered if he had misinterpreted Sephiroth's reactions to him during sex. He had felt like they'd shared something together. He'd thought he'd seen something in those green eyes while he'd been thrusting in and out of the small body beneath him. Maybe he'd been wrong. It may have also been arrogant of him to assume that Sephiroth would leap at the change to come with him. But Sephiroth was still holding his hand, and he hadn't rejected him yet.

Finally, green eyes rose to meet crimson, and Sephiroth stared at him with a serious expression.

"I want to stay with you. But only if Cloud _does_ go with Leon. And if he doesn't want to go, then I won't go. I'll ask him tomorrow."

Vincent nodded against the soft silver hair, helpless against the smile that spread over his face as he felt Sephiroth's rhythmic breathing.

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It was Vincent who wound up finishing the story, as Leon claimed that some of it was getting rather foggy near the middle. Barret gave Vincent a long, hard stare, going over what he had just heard in his mind.

"So what you're telling me…" the large man wet his lips, dark eyes resting on the men standing before him.

"Is that you located Cloud Strife, detained him, _lost him_, had your car dismantled, and now you can't remember where you even found the kid in the first place because you were so distressed after losing Midgar's _most wanted _criminal, you went to a bar and got piss ass drunk. On company time."

Leon and Vincent nodded solemnly, looking thoroughly ashamed of themselves. It was fortunate for them that Vincent was nearly legally insane, so lying came fairly natural to him.

The towering black man shook his head, wondering how in the hell these two men had been considered his best officers when they'd walked into his office this morning. Clearly his judgment had lost it's acuity over the years of dealing with the scum on the earth.

"Get out of my office."

The men looked at him, awareness flooding their eyes. Barret rolled his own.

"You're not fired. Just get the fuck out of my office. Go home. I don't want to see either of you dipshits for two weeks."

Vincent and Leon had the decency to look downtrodden as they filed out of the office, though it was plain to see the happiness radiating from them once they'd exited the claustrophobic room. Two weeks off was two weeks off, which was especially good when you had something to be doing.

"How do you think we're going to find them?"

Leon finally got to voice his question once they'd hit the fresher air of the outside world. He was happy to be out of the building and back onto the street. He was also curious as to how they were supposed to locate their new "friends." Before they'd walked into that office this morning, Vincent had told Leon what he'd discussed with Sephiroth the night before. Both men had been disappointed when not a word about it was said when they left.

Vincent seemed to mull over this, having debated this for himself and had found no immediate answer. Since being waved off by the two gorgeous psychopaths earlier that morning to report to HQ, Leon and Vincent had realized that they had no idea how to get back to them. Sure, they had been to the shitty apartment, but it had been at dusk. Not only that, but every apartment in the slums looked exactly the same- falling to pieces and surrounded by questionable persons. It wasn't like Cloud or Sephiroth had a telephone to give away their number, either. Perhaps Sephiroth did not want to stay with him? Had he only agreed last night because it was safer that way?

The dark haired man sighed, fighting the sinking depression and lifting his arms to cross them over his chest as Leon halfheartedly hailed a cab. It looked as though they'd be relying on public transportation for a while now, until a new vehicle was assigned to them. From the looks of things, it would be about two weeks.

"I don't know."

Leon frowned at the answer, having been hoping for something profound and fool-proof. He couldn't blame Vincent, though, not when he couldn't think of a solution for himself.

"Well," he began as he pulled open the door of the yellow cab that had pulled off in front of them, signally that Vincent should enter first. Once they were both seated he continued.

"We have two weeks off and we still have our pistols. Looks like we'll be combing the slums."

Vincent gave a small smile before turning his eyes to an impatient cabbie.

"Sorry. To Fourth and Langley, please."

The driver nodded, regarding them from the rearview mirror.

"Due to recent incident, we are asking that you show proof of ability to pay before the drive. Who will be paying?"

Vincent looked to Leon, who was intently focused on something outside of his window, seemingly paying no attention to the man driving the car. The black haired man rolled his eyes and reached into this back pocket for his wallet, withdrawing a credit card.

The cabbie nodded and slid the dividing window open, turning in his seat.

"And your ID, sir."

Vincent returned to his wallet, his fingers moving to slide the card in question from its confinement when he noticed something odd. His driver's license was missing. He checked his whole wallet, looking behind other cards and papers, but it was not to be found. In fact, all of his photo ID's were gone.

"That little…"

Sighed, believing that Vincent was trying to get to him take a hint, turning to the man and giving him what could only be described as the stink eye.

"Fine! I'll pay." The brunet flashed the cabbie two twenties, which would more than cover their fifteen minute trip.

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"I just can't believe he would take my shit."

Leon raised an eyebrow at Vincent and the man continued his rant as they made their way up the hall of Vincent's apartment building.

"He steals for a living; why in the hell wouldn't he take your shit?"

Vincent finally put the wallet back into his pocket, realizing that no amount of staring at the empty slots was going to make the missing items return.

"I don't understand. Strife didn't take anything from you."

Leon nodded.

"Maybe because I didn't scare the hell out of him. You know you looked at that kid like you were going to eat him, right?"

The crimson-eyed man grimaced, embarrassed that Leon had witnessed him while lust was clouding his judgment. It's not like he tortured the child, anyway. No, once they'd been alone together he'd calmed down, and what they'd done had been beautiful. His heart ached at the thought that he may never actually see the boy again.

"I didn't—"

Vincent froze midsentence, bright red eyes resting on the door down the hall. More specifically, the set of keys lodged into the door knob. Leon noticed his silence and looked to him, quickly finding his paled expression and following his gaze. His breath stopped.

"Are those…"

Vincent slowly reached into his jacket, withdrawing his pistol, Leon quickly following suit. Within the keyhole of his apartment door dangled the keys that had been stolen from their destroyed car.

"Yep…"

Silently, the two men approached the front door. Leon reached out and turned the handle, displeased when the door pushed right open. Not that he'd been expecting it to still be locked, but it was still disconcerting.

He took a deep breath; there was no time to be disturbed right now. Throwing open the door, Leon held his pistol in front of him and scanned the area for intruders. What he saw made him drop the damned thing.

"Cloud?"

Still pressed against the wall in the hallway, Vincent made a confused face.

"What?"

Quickly rounding the corner, he looked into the room to see that Leon was, surprisingly, correct.

On the couch, wearing a pair of Vincent's tattered pajama bottoms, was the infamous Cloud Strife. It took nearly all of the "oomph" out of the infamy, however, to see the boy eating a bowl of Co-Co Puff cereal while he watched a rerun of SpongeBob Square Pants on the television set.

Leon seemed unable to act; his only response was a confused stare as he held his rigid posture.

"You're the one who broke into our car?"

Both Vincent and Cloud actually gave Leon the same disbelieving expression. Instead of focusing on the fact that Cloud, Cloud Strife, one of the boys that they were worried they'd never see again, was on _right here_, he was focusing on _that._

Blue eyes rolled and Cloud set his bowl of cereal on the coffee table as he used the remote to flip off the TV.

"No. I was busy being assaulted, remember?" Cloud strode casually toward the pair, stopping just before them with his arms crossed.

"He fucked up your car."

Cloud flicked his hand careless towards the kitchenette, blue eyes never leaving stormy grey. Leon could not be bothered with looking away, as it had just dawned on him that the drop dead gorgeous blond was in Vincent's house, wearing only a pair of loose-fitting pants, standing right in front of him, and very clearly giving him bedroom eyes. He had better things to focus on.

Vincent, however, turned to where Cloud had indicated. He was met with sly green eyes and a coy smile.

Even though he was positive that Sephiroth would be here after finding Cloud, it still nearly knocked him off his feet to see the silver haired youth sitting on his counter top, seemingly waiting just for him. Had he changed his mind?

A smile tugged at his lips when Sephiroth slid off of the counter and leaned against it, not bothering to come closer. Vincent didn't mind, however, and had no problem crossing the short distance to the boy, his smile quite enormous by the time he made it to him.

Sephiroth looked up at him in a way that made him shiver, wanting nothing more than to drag the pale youth back into his bedroom and show him the time that he deserved. The teenage boy smiled at him before reaching back onto the counter behind him, swiping up several plastic cards.

"Now that we found your house, I guess you can have these back."

Vincent smirked and accepted his identification cards, placing them in his pocket without breaking eye contact. Oh God, he had so many other things to teach this boy. There simply had not been enough time the previous night.

Much to his delight, Sephiroth leaned forward then, giving him a closed mouth kiss that lasted a few more seconds that was probably intended. Sephiroth didn't pull completely away, instead craning his head so that warm breath whispered in Vincent's ear.

"I never told Cloud. He thinks we're just here to get laid."

With that, the silver haired boy only offered him a small smile before slipping passed him, sauntering his way towards Vincent's bedroom.

"So are you just going to stare?"

Vincent snapped out of his trance at Leon's playful question, red eyes flicking to the man.

He offered his partner a smile, before his gaze fell to Cloud. His smile disappeared, replaced with a serious expression.

"Was there anything important to you in your apartment?"

Cloud quirked a pale eyebrow, his face turning in curiosity.

"As much as can't stand being away from that sofa…" Blue eyes rolled. "Not a thing."

Vincent nodded.

"Good. Because neither of you are ever going back there. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go make love to your little friend. Don't steal anything."

Blue eyes widened at the thin man's retreating back, only refocusing when a hand fell around his waist. Cloud looked up to Leon, shock evident on his face. He couldn't have meant…  
The brunet smiled down at him, his other hand coming to rest on a pale cheek.

"Vincent and I want to "keep" you two. His words, not mine."

Cloud still seemed unwilling to comprehend what was being told to him. He and Sephiroth had just come by to see the men again; they certainly hadn't been expecting to get anything more out if it than sex, and maybe some dinner.

"Do you mean—" Cloud seemed unsure of how to phrase the question, unwilling to say it out loud incase he was misreading the conversation.

A hungry smirk pulled at Leon's mouth, enjoying the hopeful confusion plainly written on the boy's face.

"Come home with me."

Leon barely had the words passed his lips when the blond grabbed him, yanking his head down into a severe kiss, nothing but gratitude and lust on his young lips and tongue. As Leon felt himself be backed towards the sofa, he couldn't help but wonder why he was always the one fucking on the couch.

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A/N: Yes! One more thing off the list, people :) Sorry it took so long, Sleighbells. Hope it was worth it.

And because, looking back, I never really made it clear, the item that Seph didn't want them to see on his nightstand was the car keys. My bad.


End file.
